You Fight
by cheekybby
Summary: Someone receives a disturbing letter and finds hope from an unlikely source.


When I saw Maverick flying into the hall with the white envelope my heart sank. When the letter hit the table in front of me I felt a mist descend over my mind. I didn't want to open it. I could feel people looking at me. Not too many. Other people had their own mail to read but I knew my friends were watching me. They knew where that envelope came from just as I did. The Ministry of Magic.

I stared at it willing it to disappear because in my heart I knew what it would say. I knew that piece of paper was lying there waiting on me. Waiting to destroy me like it had destroyed so many others.

I felt one of my friends touch my arm and I pulled away from him. I was not really sure who it was but I didn't care. I wasn't interested in any of them. I felt someone on my other side pull me on the sleeve of my robes. I glanced up and tried to smile. I stretched out my shaking hands and picked up the envelope. My quivering hands reached for a knife and I sliced the envelope open.

My head spun and my insides squirmed. I didn't know if I could continue. The letter fell onto the bench and I stared at it. This was it. My whole life could collapse around me if I read this one sheet of parchment.

_Ministry of Magic_

_London_

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_I regret to inform you that your residence of the Potter estate in Hampshire was raided by death eaters yesterday evening. _

_The main home upon the estate Potter manor has been, regrettably, raised to the ground._

_It is my deep displeasure to inform you Mr Potter that your parents John and Sadie Potter did not survive the raid. _

_Arrangements for their funerals shall be in your own hands and a will reading shall be arranged. The details of which will be sent by Gringotts bank, London._

_Sincerely,_

_Markus Robertson_

I felt numb by the time I had finished reading it. I was vaguely aware of my friends calling out to me but I didn't care. I rose to my feet and walked out of the hall as normally as I could. My eyes pricked and I had to fight back tears. I could hear Sirius saying he wanted to follow me. Then I heard Remus tell him to leave me alone. I could not have been more grateful at that moment. I needed to be alone.

I felt people watching me again. The whispers were travelling around the hall. "James Potter's parents are dead". Yeah but saying it over again is not going to change that. I stumbled outside and made my way down to the lake. The lake was stormy and wild. Waves crashed against the rocks and the trees swayed dangerously in the wind. It reflected my conflicted state of mind perfectly. I was conflicted. I did not which emotion to feel first. Sadness that my parents were dead. Angry that death eaters had killed them. Relief that I myself had survived. That created guilt in the pit of my stomach. How could I possible feel grateful when my parents were dead? What sort of person did that make me?

I was so wrapped up I my own thoughts that I didn't feel her approach. I didn't know she was there until she took a hold of my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. At first I thought it was just one of the girls who followed the marauders around the school. It wasn't until I looked up into her emerald green orbs that I realised it was Lily Evans who held my rough hands in her smooth ones.

For once in my life I could not find the strength to smile at her but I didn't have to. For once she smiled at me. My heart skipped a beat. She said nothing for a few moments and then she looked into my eyes,

" James. I lost my parents a few years ago. I know none of your other close friends have lost their parents so if you need someone to listen and not talk back I will be here. I won't judge anything you say."

"I just can't believe that they are gone. I could always rely on them being there through the struggles. The fall out last year and all the times I terrified about doing something they were there."

"I don't want to pry but was it you-know-who?"

James looked at her and nodded.

"Voldemort Lilly. Saying his name won't kill you darling. I am not sure I know what to do now."

" you fight."

"What? Evans have you gone mad?"

" No that's Black. Fight back James. Don't let him win Potter."

I was still trying to find the words to reply to her when she rose from the grass and pulled her cloak around her. She offered me another ghost of a smile and headed back towards the castle.

As I watched her walk away from me, her red hair swaying in the storm, I was filled with another feeling. Hope. Maybe there was something worth fighting for.


End file.
